Rising FC blowout Tacoma Defiance FC 4-0 in first home win of season
(Cynthia Tapia/Northeast Valley News)
April 21, 2019
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Phoenix Rising FC secured their first home win of the season on Saturday against Tacoma Defiance FC, 4-0.
The successful outcome comes after Rising’s 1-0 defeat to Austin Bold FC on the road Wednesday.
This victory now places Rising 2-1-4 on the season and No. 8 in the USL Western Conference standings.
Goalkeeper Zac Lubin addressed the key factor of consistency being needed and not allowing themselves to get complacent after the win.
“We can’t hang our heads on a 4-0 win over Tacoma,” Lubin said. “We have to stay humble. We lost last week. We’ve got to still feel that, come back from it — work hard because we haven’t done anything.”
Rising manager Rick Schantz acknowledged his players for stepping up after the upset in Austin.
“It’s all credit to the players,” Schantz said.
Schantz went on to mention what happened behind the scenes that led up to this victory.
“I really pushed them hard in film on Friday,” Schantz said. “We looked at our game in Austin for about an hour in the film room and I just said it’s not good enough.
“These guys came together. … It’s about time they understand what they are capable of and I just have to push them.”
Although Schantz was pleased with the outcome, he identified room for improvement that could have cost them the game.
“I was actually a little upset that we were passing it around as much as we were,” Schantz said. “I wanted us to be a little more direct in the first 15 minutes. It almost killed us because we made two mistakes in the first five minutes and could’ve been down a goal.”
The trio of forwards made up of Junior Flemmings, Solomon Asante, and Jason Johnson dominated the scoreboard.
Flemmings scored both of his goals in the first half, as his first in the 34th minute was shortly followed up by his second that was assisted by Johnson just before halftime.
Johnson had one goal which was assisted by Asante just minutes after Flemmings’ first goal, creating a massive momentum swing for Phoenix after two quick back-to-back goals.
By the end of the match, Asante had earned his goal with assistance from Flemmings, resulting in the 4-0 shutout.
One notable substitution on the night was defender Joey Farrell coming off for Tristan Blackmon due to an injury that required stitches.
Rising will face Sacramento Republic FC on the road next Saturday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m.
The match can be viewed on Your Phoenix CW.
